“I’m here to win,” Matt Harvey told reporters Monday at Citi Field, where he long-tossed and hit in the indoor batting cage.

“I don’t make those decisions on who’s the ace, who’s not the ace,” he said. However, “In the long run, that’s where I want to be. … Every time I take the mound, I don’t want to lose. I take the mound fighting for every single pitch. I take anger to the mound, I take a lot of aggression. That’s the fight that I have to win.”

Harvey had a 2.72 ERA in 10 starts for the Mets last season, but was shut down in mid-September to keep him from exceeding an innings limit set by the team.

Matthew Cerrone, Lead Writer

I said this last week, but it’s worth repeating here: Harvey has the physical talent, obviously. But, what impressed me most, and what has me most excited for his future, and what probably inspires the Mets to go overboard when speaking about him, is his work ethic and focus. It’s impressive. He has a maturity, poise, consistent attitude and professionalism that I expect to be a difference maker for him.

In regards to his physical talent, he still needs to keep working at walking less batters. And, he’s going to hit a bump in the road or two during his first full season in the big leagues, because it happens to most pitchers. Because of these two hurdles, I don’t expect him to replicate his 10 starts from 2012 over 30 starts in 2013. Instead, I’m expecting a 4.00 ERA (maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less), I expect to see a good number of strike outs and around 180 innings pitched. In either case, I think he’s a mid-rotation guy (with ups and downs) in 2013 … on his way to being a consistent, top-of-the-rotation workhorse for many, many years to come… and I think he has the potential to be a second Face of the Franchise, given statements like the above quote.